Transformers Prime: Lost, But Found
by Rogue-Scholar-Blue
Summary: Cut off and alone, Jack and Arcee encounter an unseen Foe...
1. Chapter 1

Transformers Prime: Lost, But Found

Part One

"Jack! Down!" Arcee cried out in warning as she, in vehicle form, Jack now clinging to her frame, barreled around the blossoming cloud of heat and debris. In her wake, the section of interstate was now dominated by a smoking crater. Already, both the human teen and his cybernetic partner could hear the high pitched wail of another rocket propelled projectile screeching across the afternoon Nevada sky towards them.

"Where's it coming from?" Jack shouted, hands griped to the controls like a vice. "I don't see any 'cons!"

"I don't know! Something's playing havoc with my sensors. I can't…scrap!" Tires spinning, Arcee barely managed to avoid the car in front of her, putting distance between herself and the motorist, observing in consternation as the missile altered it's trajectory to follow her meandering course through the traffic, many of the aforementioned motorists already driving hectically in light of what they likely assumed was a terrorist attack.

"Damn it! Heat seeker! We need to get off the road! Too many Civvies!" Arcee called out. "Hang on tight!"

Banking hard, the Autobot female cleared the cavalcade of vehicles, clenching proverbial teeth as her heavy tread tires tore into the loose sand and grit of the dessert terrain. Dust clouds in their wake, the pair rode hard away from the Highway and those innocent bystanders now hopefully out of harms way.

Chancing a skyward glance at their back, Jack's eyes widened as he watched the missile corkscrew, angling to drop straight down upon them.

"Arcee!" Jack warned.

"I see it!" Came her response, the Cybertronian already visually scanning the surrounding landscape for any degree of cover they could find. The projectile quickly closing, Arcee spied several small structures no more then a few miles away.

Have to give that missile something else to think about…

"Jack? Time for a Springboard!" Arcee announced.

Jack, for his part, felt his mouth go dry. "Now?" He asked incredulously.

"Trust me." Arcee said confidently.

"Shit." Jack answered, almost with a laugh. Despite knowing what was coming, the teen could feel his insides tighten up. They'd only ever practiced what Arcee was suggesting a few times, and they hadn't exactly gotten it down, Jack usually ending up with a few bruises.

"Alright!" Jack called out to her, loosening the grip of both his hands and legs. "Good to go!"

Watching the missile's speed, Arcee counted aloud. "Three. Two. One…go, Jack!"

Getting his feet atop the rider's seat, Jack rose just long enough to push off from Arcee with enough force to launch himself nearly vertical. Within those few seconds, free from the burden of her rider, Arcee shifted from her vehicle form to her normal bipedal appearance, the speed of her forward momentum putting her into a slide as she came down upon her armored feet.

The seconds, and her window of opportunity to ensure Jack's safety, ticking by at near light speed in her cybernetic mind, Arcee brought out one of her canons, taking aim just off the missile's path of decent as it dropped from the sky towards her.

"Scratch one…" Arcee breathed as she fired the single energy blast, spinning in place as she did so. The lone bolt of condensed energy arched into the sky, splitting ozone in it's wake. Sensing the new heat signature, the projectile's simple acquisition software designated the canon shot as a new priority target.

As the missile merged with the energy blast, filling the air above them with a small pyrotechnics display, Arcee, only just completing her turn in an eye blink's span of time, reached out her hand to catch Jack as the teen succumbed to gravity.

Coming down only slightly less gently then he would have preferred into Arcee waiting grasp, Jack was grateful that his helmet concealed the brief flash of pain that appeared on his face.

"Nice catch." Jack said around the discomfort as Arcee, not missing a beat, shifted back to her motorcycle form, returning Jack to his previous spot.

"We can celebrate later," Arcee replied, gaining speed as she aimed them for the collection of buildings now in the near distance. "Something tells me we're not out of this yet."

"Did you contact HQ?" Jacked asked her.

"No good." Arcee answered. "Whatever has my sensors on the fritz, it's also playing hell with my coms. I'm getting static. Try your cell."

Pulling the device from his jacket, and silently thankful that Arcee's interception hadn't broken it, Jack checked the bars on the screen. "No signal." Jack reported. "Looks like the secondary frequency Ratchet installed is being blocked to."

Arcee cursed silently. "You know, with all the time and resources the Doc and Raf have poured into making sure we can't get jammed any more, you'd think that wouldn't be a concern." Arcee paused at that. "Though I don't think we're dealing with Soundwave or his tech this time."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, at a loss.

"Got a good look at that missile in my sights." Arcee answered ominously. "It wasn't Decepticon."

Jack had to blink at the implication several times. "No way it's the military. Not anymore. It's been months, and we're still on good, well, lukewarm terms with the Pentagon." Jack observed. "Plus, North's been keeping a low profile since he put in his walking papers."

"Exactly." Arcee stated flatly.

"Wait. You think it's North? Or his supporters? Can't be." Jack argued. "Optimus had the President's promise. No aggression, and complete transparency from here on out. They wouldn't just let North or his Black Op buddies start lobbing missiles. Not to mention, there were a heck of a lot of people back there."

"Just because North doesn't have official backing anymore doesn't mean he couldn't have gone rogue." Arcee countered. "You saw the look on his face when he walked out of the Silo. It won't ever be over for him."

Jack was thoughtful as the pair continued to speed across the dessert. "I still don't see it. At least, not like this. Too sloppy. I mean, you're a solider to. Would it make sense to just start blasting at us out in public when he's trying to make us appear to be the bad guys?"

Arcee mulled that over. "No. It wouldn't." She relented. "But if not North, then whom?"

"What about Silas and his MECH group?" Jack suggested. "We haven't heard from them for almost a year, not since that Train Job. Maybe this is payback."

"Maybe." Arcee nodded unseen. "If it is, we need to regroup. If he brought more then those rockets, we can't take him on. We'll need to contact HQ, or at least get word to Fowler and the Task Force." To highlight that objective, Arcee dipped her mirrors forward, in the general direction of what was quickly appearing to be a small, dilapidated town out in the middle of nowhere.

"Might be a way to get a signal or call out somewhere in there."

"Hope you're right." Jack replied, as he searched the fading light of the late afternoon sky for any further projectiles.

It would be another few minutes before they at last reached the outskirts of the town. What they encountered did not, however, instill any great degree of confidence. Taking sight of a rusted sign on what could barely be discerned as a main road cutting through the smattering of crumbling buildings, Jack and Arcee identified their location as what was left of a mining town called Desolation.

"Well, that name is infuriatingly ironic." Arcee observed, her ire raised.

"Might still be something in here somewhere we can use. Maybe an old radio or something." Jack offered encouragingly, slipping off the rider's seat, his helmet now in hand.

"Ever the optimist," Arcee observed, bemused, as she shifted out of her vehicle mode.

"Well, I thought that was one of the reasons you fell head over metal-heels for me." Jack teased.

"Who says that wasn't the only reason?" Arcee mocked. "There's really not much else, after all."

"Ouch." Jack moaned. "I guess all those moments we've spent making my hair stand up weren't as good as I thought."

"No." Arcee admitted. "Those have been okay."

"I here I thought you loved me for my mind."

"Again with the optimism."

"You know, you really can…"

Then the world was suddenly a roaring sound in his ears, mixed with light and heat. Then something struck him across the head, and there was a funny taste in his mouth before everything was darkness and silence.

…

"J…Jack…" Came a voice, whispering to him in his dreams. Or was he still dreaming? For a dream, there was great deal of pain racking his body. "Jack…Jack? P…please, wake up."

The voice, so familiar, especially in his dreams, implored him to rise, and instantly he wanted to, his instinctive reaction being to go to it, to answer it. Because, the woman whom the voice belonged to was the love of his life. His soul mate. He knew he had to go to her. She needed him. But…there was so much pain all a part of him wanted to do was stay asleep, unmoving.

No…no, Jack. You have to get up. Arcee needs you. Arcee…Arcee…

"Arcee?" Jack croaked aloud. His left eye was now open, with only a smoky, flickering glow to greet him. Coughing past a mouth full of dirt, Jack called out to the near darkness once more. "Arcee?"

"I'm…here." Came the voice he had heard in his dreams. She sounded strange. Distant.

Struggling to move limbs and a body which seemed unwelcoming to such a course of action, Jack tried to search the area around him, what little of it he could make out, for where she was speaking from. The muscles in his neck felt shredded, burning, as he tried to look, realizing with some terror that his right eye would not open. Reaching up slowly, Jack could feel a try, brittle mass over the lid. Bringing his hand away, Jack could see the tips of his fingers were now red.

I'm bleeding, Jack realized through his state of shock. Must have dried a little, sealed my eye shut.

"Arcee? Where are you? I can't see too good." Jack called out. "Are you okay?"

"Not…really…" Arcee answered. "Wait…"

From the near darkness to his left came a piecing light cutting through the smoky gloom. Jack had seen Arcee use the beam atop her wrist often enough. Though he still could not make her out completely, Jack could discern her form in shadow behind the light.

"Hold on." Jack said to her. "I'm coming…"

Trying to get to his feet, Jack gasped at the searing pain that filled his chest like fire as he took a breath.

"Jack?" Arcee called out to him.

"It's…it's okay. Think I broke some ribs." As Jack tried to step forward, the world began to spin. "And my head." Fighting through the agony, Jack stumbled towards the beam, trying to avoid the small piles of shattered brick and wood.

"What happened?" Jack asked, still somewhat stunned.

"Explosion." Arcee said after a moment, her voice almost a whisper. "My…my fault. Wasn't paying attention."

"It wasn't your fault."

Nearly loosing his feet out from under him, Jack ambled through the debris, at last coming to where Arcee lay. The sight which greeted him filled his heart with sudden terror, anguish, and rage. The Cybertronian woman lay partially covered by brick and other broken pieces of various materials from the waist down, her back propped up against the remnants of a wall.

Belatedly, Jack realized they both appeared to be with-in what remained of a small, single story building. From the shattered wall open to the night nearby, it appeared the explosion had sent them from the street and into the interior.

As Jack came into view, Arcee's eyes, their violet blue glow dimmed, went a little wider. "Jack…" Arcee breathed, reaching out to touch the teen's bloody face.

"It's fine," He assured her, taking her long fingers in both of his hands. "Don't worry about me." His eyes sweeping over her, Jack wasn't sure how badly she had been injured.

"Where are you hurt?" He asked her.

" Worst is h…here…" Arcee answered weakly, using her free hand to touch her chest. In the light from her wrist, Jack could see a hole, jagged, and roughly a few fingers wide punched into the thick armor of her upper torso.

"Might…be shrapnel of some kind. Maybe something…else." She said slowly. "It's…near my Spark Chamber. Might have…nicked it. Loosing a lot of…power. Can barely move."

Hearing that, Jack felt himself grow cold. Much as a human heart, an Autobot's Spark was their source of life, an energy which permitted them to function. If the chamber containing this energy was seriously damaged or destroyed…

"Can…can you remove it?" Jack asked her, trying to keep his voice even.

Arcee shook her head slowly, even that small action seeming to take more out of her then it should. "The…wound is too…small. I can't reach it. If I…tried, I could damage something else." Arcee gave Jack's hands a squeeze, the pressure almost unnoticeable.

"Jack…I need you…to do it." Arcee pleaded.

"What? But…I'm not a medic. I don't, I mean, I'm not Ratchet. I don't know how…" Jack was terrified at even the thought. In his condition, a sealed eye and possibly a concussion, he was the last person to try something so risky to Arcee's life.

"Jack…I'll…walk you through it. Please…" Arcee whispered. "I can't self repair while it's…still in there."

Even past all the fog in his head and the pain across his body, Jack knew if he did something wrong, if he caused Arcee's injury to worsen or simply could not remove the shrapnel, things could go from bad to the worst possibility of all. Gently, Arcee touched the side of Jack's face.

"I…know…you can do it." She told him quietly, her tone sure.

Trying not to visibly shake, Jack nodded. Despite all the fear, Jack knew he would rather throw himself into hell then let the woman he loved perish.

Taking a deep breath, fighting the fire along his sides as he did so, Jack moved closer, trying to get a banter vantage point on the puncture.

Using his feet to push away as much debris as he could, Jack stepped gingerly between Arcee legs. Though he was, essentially, above her waist in his current position, the wound in her chest plate was still just above his eye line.

"Climb…on top of me. It's…okay." Arcee told him.

Trying to keep in mind that he, technically, sat atop her almost everyday, Jack eased himself as gently as possible up several inches, resting against her, the puncture now evenly in view.

"Okay." Jack said. "I need some light."

In response, Arcee held the beam from her wrist over the wound. "Try to…do it quickly. I don't know how long I can…keep my arm up."

"Alright. So, what do I do?" Jack inquired.

"Just…reach inside. I'm…pretty sure the wound goes straight in. Just…be careful of any sharp bits."

"What about…I can't get, like, electrocuted or anything, can I?" Jack asked.

Arcee shook her head. "Systems…cut off from damaged areas. Like…blast doors coming down." She told him slowly.

Nodding, Jack took another painful breath, then went inside, fingers probing hesitantly.

"I can't find anything." Jack told her. "It's too tight."

"You have to…go deeper. "Arcee answered gently. "It's…alright. You won't hurt me."

Swallowing audibly, Jack plunged further in. His fingers, after a few seconds, brushed against something small and round. At the same moment, Arcee gasped, her body twitching.

Startled that he had done something wrong, Jack almost jumped back, removing his fingers quickly.

"I'm sorry…was that too much? Did I push to hard, or…?" Jack stammered.

"It's…fine, Jack." Arcee mumbled. "Your…fingers are cold." Gazing up into her face, Jack could see the smallest trace of a teasing smile.

"That's not funny, Arcee." Jack said with a frown.

"Sorry. Just trying to…lighten the mood. Keep going." She told him.

Finding the spot where he had left off, Jack continued to explore inside. It wasn't long at all before his fingers found something oddly shaped, and sharp, wedged between Arcee's inner workings and the slightly vibrating sphere that was her Spark Chamber.

"I think I got it." Jack told her.

"Okay. Good. Now…try to get your fingers around it."

Jack grunted as he pushed to get a hold. "Almost…"

"When you have it, pull. Pull…hard." Arcee told him gently. "Don't worry…about hurting me."

Nodding, Jack strained to find a solid grip. Finally, the twisted piece of metal was completely in his hand.

Arcee tensed. "Now."

Jack strained against the resistance, trying to maintain his position atop her. Persistently, though not forcefully, Jack, accompanied by one final gasp from Arcee, removed the fragment. Slumped against her, Jack held up the piece of shrapnel for inspection. Though still weak, Arcee smiled down at him.

"Nice work." She said with a wink.

"Thanks." Jack replied, the intensity of the last few moments leaving him panting with exertion. "Don't know if I could do that again."

Resting her fingers across his back, holding him close, Arcee laughed gently, though with some effort. "I'll try not to… abuse you so much in the… future."

"You'll be alright now?" Jack asked her, his face still full of concern.

"Not…one hundred percent. But, stable." She answered. "Thanks to you."

Reaching up to touch the pearlescent surface of her face, Jack looked deeply into the now slightly brighter gaze there. "I love you." He told her, his voice at last betraying the emotion he had tried to keep back in the last few moments. "If I lost you…"

Arcee traced the edge of his chin slowly, a caress. "I'm still…here. Not going anywhere just yet." She smiled somewhat more strongly then before. Holding out her hand, Arcee indicated the shard of metal still in Jack's possession.

"Let me see that." Without hesitation, Jack placed the fragment in her hands. "Strange…" Arcee whispered.

"What?" Jack inquired, eyeing the shrapnel piece.

"My alloy, it's resistant to most earth based metals." Arcee observed. "Even the explosion should not have been enough to…punch this through."

"What does that mean?" Jack asked her.

"I…don't know." She answered, turning her attention back to him. "How do you feel?"

"Don't think I'll be dancing anytime soon." Jack admitted.

"You were never…all that good anyway." Arcee prodded gently.

"Well, the shrapnel didn't damage your sense of humor…"

"No. But…it did enough." Arcee's gaze went distant, as though she were looking at things Jack himself could not. "The breach to my spark chamber is closed, I think. I don't believe anything else was damaged too severely. Another hour, I should be able to move and maybe use my weapons. We can go from there."

"Then rest. I'll keep watch." Jack said resolutely.

Though hesitant at the idea, Arcee empathically understood the need. Though more then a little frustrated, and fearful, of their situation, she watched Jack slip off of her and back down to the rubble strewn floor.

"Be careful. Wake me if you need me." She told him softly.

"Don't worry. Just rest." Jack answered. Closing her eyes, Arcee went still, leaving Jack to watch over her, a Sentinel in silence.

To be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Transformers Prime: Lost, But Found

Part Two

Once more Jack awoke with a start, the events of the last several hours flooding his mind like a splash of artic water. His head swimming, Jack stumbled to his feet, body aching, before nearly toppling over as a wave of fresh nausea assailed him. Before he could hit the rubble strewn floor at his feet, Arcee's metal arm was there to keep him upright.

"Easy, Jack." She told him gently. "You humans don't recover all that quickly."

Trying to fight through the vertigo and the haze of pain that seemed to cover him from head to foot, Jack tried to blink his sight clear, being reminded almost instantly that one of his eyes was still sealed shut by the long dried blood which had run down from a gash along his brow.

He recalled, absently, tearing a strip from the hem of his shirt while Arcee had slept, using it as a makeshift bandage.

"I'm fine." Jack said, trying to regain some measure of composure. "I must have dozed off. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. I appreciate that you watched over me as long as you did." Arcee replied, lacing her long fingers about him protectively. "I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to restore my systems. By my count, we've been here for a little over five hours."

That gave Jack pause. When the first missile had appeared to target them during their patrol, it has been sometime after 7:00 in the early evening. Their evasive actions and subsequent arrival in the mining town had taken about an hour's worth of time, give or take. Jack came to the conclusion that it was sometime after 1:00 am.

"No one's come looking for us?" Jack inquired.

"I wouldn't be able to tell if they did, or even if they still _are_. My sensors are still being interrupted. Ditto for communications." Arcee informed him. "If we're going to get out of here, it's going to have to be on foot."

Easing from her grasp, Jack tested his legs and balance. Besides the throbbing in his head and the lingering ache in his chest from a broken rib, or two, he was steady enough. "How about you? Can you move? Or shift?" Jack asked her.

"I can move well enough, if a bit slowly. My power levels are still a bit low. I can't use any of my energy weapons, and the internal damage is too severe for me to shift forms." Arcee answered with frustration. "We're doing this the long way."

"Well," Jack said. "If we can get to the Highway, I might be able to flag someone down. Even this late, there has to be a few drivers."

"I think that's the least of our problems." Arcee observed.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked her.

In response, Arcee held up the long sliver of sharp, twisted metal Jack had pulled from her chest. "My sensors might be on the fritz, but my eyes work just fine." Arcee explained. "This metal isn't anything normal. I thought at first that it had come from one of the buildings when the explosion hit us. But, it's too dense, and I can't even bend it." Arcee handed the shard to Jack.

"To make matters worse," she continued, rising from her crouched position, walking across the room to a near by wall. "I spotted these while you were out." Jack watched as Arcee ran her hand down several small holes, only a few fingers wide, scattered across the old concrete. "Look familiar?"

Moving slowly to join her, Jack probed the small holes. Almost instantly, his fingers contacted the same metal he now held in his hand. "That explosion…" Jack ventured.

"Was a scatter mine. Thing was filled with these metal fragments." Arcee explained. "On Cybertron, during the War, the Decepticons used devices like that to booby-trap skyways and choke points. Those of us on patrols learned to keep an eye out for them." Arcee shook her head. "I wasn't expecting something like that. Not on this planet. The 'cons haven't used them since we've been here. But _someone_ has a long memory."

Jack was silent for a moment. "So, you do think it's Decepticons after us?"

Arcee nodded. "It's either the 'cons, or someone else from Cybertron with a grudge. That only leaves one other option."

"Airachnid." Jack breathed.

Once more Arcee nodded, though gravely. "It would explain why we haven't been attacked again. She's playing with us. She _wants_ us to run."

"You mean, she could be watching us right now?" Jack asked quietly, trying not to make it obvious he was scanning the desert night just beyond the shattered wall nearby.

"Maybe." Arcee said. "If she is, she's been patient. This is a game she wants to make last."

"What's the plan?" Jack asked pointedly.

"Same as before. We make for the Highway. Carefully." Arcee told him. "If we can avoid anymore surprises like that mine, we'll draw her out. I might not have my canons, but I can still give her some payback." To emphasize, Arcee brought out one of her long blades, the look in her eyes deadly.

"She nearly killed you. Twice." Arcee said coldly. "This time, she won't be getting away."

"Arcee. She tried to kill you as much as she did me. I want to see her scraped just as badly for that. But, I think we might be better off just trying to get outside the range of whatever it is she has that's keeping us cut off." Jack said, resting his hands on her forearm. "Neither one of us is one hundred percent. If she got the drop on you…"

Arcee sighed reluctantly. "I know. We need support." Retracting her weapon, Arcee moved to the lip of the shattered wall, peering out into the night from the modicum of cover. " Full moon tonight. So, we make a break for the edge of town. Once we're out in the open desert, she won't have the element of surprise. Even if she burrows, we'll be able to hear or see her coming out there."

"Sounds like a plan." Jack responded, moving to join her.

"Can you make it?" Arcee asked him. "Energon is low, but I can carry you."

Jack tried to feign wounded pride. "Last time I checked, being carried around by your girlfriend isn't exactly _heroic_."

Arcee stared down at him, a strange look and small smile across her face.

"What?" Jack asked her.

"That's the first time you've called me your _Girlfriend_." She teased.

"Sorry." Jack offered apologetically.

"No." Arcee answered, returning her gaze to the outside. "I like it."

At her back Jack smiled despite the gravity of their current circumstance.

Though her sensors and scanners continued to be accosted by static, Arcee's well trained eyes surveyed the street and the scattering of buildings between them and the terrain beyond. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, and Arcee marked the locations where further explosives might be placed for maximum effect.

It wouldn't be a straight route, that was for sure. But, as long as they remained watchful, they would be able to escape, finding some cover as they went.

"Okay." Arcee told him, her tone firm, all pretense at levity gone. "We move as quickly as possible. You stay low and on my six. Got it?"

Jack merely nodded.

Satisfied, Arcee moved around the rim of the wall, stepping out for the first time into the open night, Jack close behind her. Moving tentatively, Arcee scanned the darkness, ensuring they were, hopefully, in the clear, before moving at a steady, though not overly rapid, pace towards the corner of a building just a few yards away. Trying to keep up with her, Jack endured his physical discomfort in silence.

Hunkered down, Arcee kept her eyes alert, sweeping them over various locations even as she spoke to her partner. "There's an old power station just past those row of outbuildings. I remember seeing it on the way in. If we can reach it, it should give us good cover all the way out of town."

"Got it." Jack told her.

Without another word, Arcee was out again and moving with a purpose, Jack struggling somewhat to maintain the close spacing, his ribs feeling as though they were moving about far too loosely with every step, chest filled with fire. Jack did his best to conceal his labored breathing. By the time they reached the next building, however, Arcee was taking notice.

"Jack," She told him firmly. "Let me carry you. Once we clear the next building we're going to have to double the pace to get to the plant without being exposed for too long. I don't want you passing out halfway across."

"I'm…fine." Jack insisted. "Carrying me will…only slow you down."

Arcee shook her head. "Males." She whispered irritably. "Skin or Metal, you're all stubborn Sparklings when you're hurt."

Jack was about to form a retort, before he realized he didn't know what a sparkling was. By the time his mind wrapped around that, Arcee was already taking him into her arms, being as gentle as she could manage for the sake of his injuries. Jack protested weakly, something which Arcee duly ignored.

Cradling the teen close to her chest, Arcee swept the area with her optics once more before starting out briskly. She had managed to make it several dozen feet before a glint caught her peripheral vision, almost unnoticeable. Past battles, however, and the reputation of they're hunter willed Arcee into action within milliseconds. Unable to shout a warning, Arcee rolled, trying to keep Jack from being crushed against her. Just inches from where her head had been, something buzzed through the air, continuing on towards what looked to have once been a flag pole. There was the sound of metal on metal, and suddenly the pole was toppling over, cut cleanly through at the middle.

Eyes wide, Arcee sprinted for the nearest protection she could find. Gathered several yards from the power station were the derelict husks of flatbed trucks which had been thoroughly gutted sometime long ago. Arcee leaped over the cabin of the nearest, coming down on the opposite side. Though the cover was minimal, it was enough to keep both her and Jack out of the line of fire.

"What…was that?" Jack asked her, his breath coming in gasps.

"Hacks." Arcee told him quietly, trying to peer around the empty engine housing. "Flat disks, about the size of a tennis ball. Get them spinning, and the damn things almost never stop moving, regardless of what they come in contact with." Arcee's gaze was suddenly distant, seeing something in memory which made her shiver ever so slightly. "Megatron used to enjoy using them to clear out bunkers."

"Why haven't they ever used them here before?" Jack asked.

"They're rare. Made from a synthetic polymer that can't be manufactured on Earth."

"So how did Airachnid get her hands on some?"

"I don't know." Arcee admitted. "But let's hope it wasn't a large surplus."

From the darkness, nothing further came, and all was quiet. Even with her cybernetic audio receptors, Arcee could discern nothing, the night mostly silent save for Jack's breathing and the odd distant coyote. Arcee gauged the distance between the truck and the power station's periphery.

There was plenty of open space for the Cybertronian psychopath to make good use of further Hacks if she had any remaining. There were few options before them; wait for Airachnid's aerial weapons to cut through their meager cover, or make the run across the proverbial no man's land to the dilapidated building. Either choice left a cold feeling in Arcee's chest.

"Jack?" Arcee said quietly. "We have to break for the station. If…if the Hacks take me down, I need you to keep going." Before the teen could interject, Arcee continued. "You get to the Highway and you get in touch with HQ or Fowler. You go and you don't look back."

"You can't believe for a second that I'd just leave you…" Jack fought to say.

"Jack, listen to me. If that monster kills us both, then it's all for nothing. We don't know how she was able to shut down coms and sensors and she could do this to the others. Bulkhead and Miko. BB and Raf." Bright azure eyes gazed into his intently. "Is that what you want?"

Jack struggled with those words, and the plausible consequences of refusing, before merely shaking his head.

"Then hold on to me." Rising slightly Arcee gave a silent prayer to the All-Spark, eyes sweeping the night around them, before sprinting from behind the confines of the flatbed, armored legs beating deep furrows into the desert's hard-packed soil. The pair had crossed almost half the distance seemingly in seconds, time seeming to slow, before Arcee felt the first strange vibration roll through the ground underfoot. Before her Positronic mind could process what was happening the planet itself seemed to heave, the ground rising up several feet before falling away into the void, taking both Arcee and Jack down once more into darkness.

…

When Arcee awoke, she new almost instantly that she was not where she should have been. The explosives which had dropped both her and Jack into the abandoned mining tunnels beneath the town had not robbed her of consciousness. Though she had come down, hard, loosing Jack in the fall, Arcee had scrambled to find her young love before being struck from the darkness, her enemy at long last seeking to bring the game to a close. The burst of electromagnetic energy had been mild, but her already damaged systems had succumbed easily. Though she had fought, desperate to protect Jack, the Autobot had felt herself drift away, her partner's name on her lips.

Now, what could have been days or hours later, her internal chronometer having been disabled in the energy blast, Arcee's optics slowly regained focus, revealing an open chamber hallowed out from the rock, dimly lit by a series of makeshift rigs salvaged from the tunnels likely nearby. There was no sign of Jack.

Her senses quickly returning, Arcee realized, much to both her frustration, fury, and even fear, that her hands and legs were bound, constrained by magnetic cuffs that, judging by their crude design, were as makeshift as the chamber's lighting. Though she new the action was in vain, Arcee struggled at her bindings, but the crude tech held. It was only after shifting slightly in her struggles Arcee realized that, though Jack was not imprisoned with her, she was not alone.

Though the lighting rigs in the chamber permitted her enough illumination to see around her, there were pockets of shadow beyond them and it was from within one of those someone, or something, stirred, moving from one pocket of darkness to another, it's footfalls heavy.

"Airachnid?" Arcee roared. "Where is Jack? Whatever you want to do to me, do it! But if you did anything to him I'll come back from the All-Spark itself to tear you apart!"

The figure remained silent, optics she could not see fixated on her. If the Decepticon torturer was relishing having Arcee under her thumb and at her mercy she gave no indication.

"Why are you hiding, Airachnid?" Arcee mocked. "Afraid of me even with these on? Coward!"

Her captor continued to say nothing, merely watching. Her fear for Jack's wellbeing nearly driving her to madness, Arcee renewed her struggles against her magnetic bindings, the force of her effort causing her to spill over on her side. Enraged, Arcee shouted her fury at the figure in shadow.

"Where is Jack? Tell me where he is!" Despite her rage, Arcee could hear her voice nearly break under the strain of her emotions. If indeed Airachnid had taken her final vengeance on Jack, Arcee knew nothing else would matter. There would be nothing left in her but a soulless, empty shell.

Jack had been the only thing keeping her whole, keeping her full of hope for something other then the fight or the War. If that future, whatever it held, was gone, then she would be truly dead. Even if the spark in her chest continued to burn.

"Just…tell me! Please!" Arcee pleaded. Had she the capacity to shed tears, she knew they would have flowed freely. As though aware of this as keenly as she, the figure at last stirred, stepping forward enough to give her captor greater definition. It took only one look at the hulking form gazing out at her from the near darkness to know she was not looking upon her old enemy.

"Who…who are you? Why are you doing this?" Arcee shouted.

When, at last, the figure spoke, the voice was chilling. Empty, almost purely metallic, yet, beneath the icy tenor, there was something…familiar. Something which nearly stilled the Spark in her chest.

"_Do you remember? Sidonis? Mountains so high they touched the stars. Do you remember when they hit our patrol? They had us separated. Fire reigning from the sky, everyone dying, everywhere death_."

As the voice like cold steel continued to speak, Arcee could see a face rise in her mind's eye, a face suggesting the impossible. Things she could not accept least what remained of her sanity be shattered.

"_When we were apart from you, fighting for our lives, did you ever fear for us, as much as you do for…him_?"

Stepping from the shadows the figure moved into the light, at last revealing himself in full, a twisted form out of Arcee's deepest nightmares. Her body shaking, Arcee fought not to scream at the horror of it.

"_Tell us, Arcee. Did you ever love us as much_…?"

Mouth agape, Arcee eyes were wide with a scream unvoiced.

"_Nothing more to say…to an old partner?" _

"_Cliff…?" Arcee heard the name as though standing outside herself. And then she screamed. _

_To be continued… _


	3. Chapter 3

Transformers Prime: Lost, But Found

Part Three

_Two Hours Ago…_

Jack slowly came too, somewhere in his mind aware that, in the last 24 hours, he had been unconscious at least two separate times. Were he not in considerable pain, he might have been annoyed by this realization to say the least. As it was, the circumstances into which he now found himself left Jack feeling none to pleased.

From what he could perceive with one good eye, he was alone in one of the abandoned mine tunnels. Set in the loose dirt nearby was a single gas-light lantern, it's dim glow cutting into the darkness for a few feet in every-direction, casting shadows on the tunnel's low stone walls. There was no sign anywhere of Arcee.

"Arcee?" Jack called into the darkness, the echo of his voice down the length of the tunnel the only response. Mind racing, Jack tried to recall what happened after Airachnid's trap had dropped both him and Arcee down into the mine. Try as he might, there was almost nothing he could remember save for slipping from Arcee's protective arms in the fall. From the new aches across his body it was likely he had struck the ground and had, once more, been knocked senseless.

Gathering his wits about him, Jack stumbled to his feet. Whatever had occurred since his blackout finding Arcee was all he cared about now. However, the possibility that it had been Airachnid herself who had left him alone in the tunnel, with a source of light for that matter, gave him pause. Was this another part of her twisted game, and if so what part was she intending for him to play?

'_You already know the answer to that, Jack.' _The teen told himself silently._ 'She's still the Hunter, which means you're the Prey_.'

Again, it didn't matter. He had to find Arcee.

Steeling himself for whatever the Decepticon had in store, Jack started forward, his desire to find Arcee willing him to limp along faster then was likely good for his already beaten body. The mine tunnel continued on, beginning a slow ascent after several hundred feet. Following the relatively straight route, Jack could begin to feel a change in the stale air of the mine, the scent of dust and decay easing. Somewhere ahead the tunnel was opened to the night. Where he would come out, Jack mused, was anyone's guess. Regardless, it was what Airachnid intended. For Arcee's sake, he would oblige her.

…

Coming out of the tunnel at last, Jack could scarcely believe what he discovered. Stretched out in front of him was an open field of desert earth, the wide clear space perhaps having once been used to store equipment intended for the mine. As if to confirm that, small stacks of rotted lumber and discarded iron girders dotted the area at random. What had taken Jack by surprise, however, was not the open area itself but rather where it ended.

Encircling the wide area was what could loosely be described as a wall, five to six stories tall. It's makeshift construction looked to be comprised of whatever could have been salvaged from the mining town as well as the mine itself. Broken concrete, weather worn beams, even the husks of abandoned vehicles. Seen together, Jack realized what this construct was meant to be, and felt his insides grow cold at the realization.

'_It's an Arena. She led me into an Arena_.'

Arcee had told Jack that, to Airachnid, this assault upon them was a game, a cross between revenge and her own twisted perception of the world. From the moment the Decepticon lunatic had launched the first rocket against them, the spider had been moving them like pieces on a chest board. Taking in the ramshackle arena before him, Jack wondered if Airachnid intended for this to be her checkmate.

Jack would not deny that fear raced through him, confronted with the idea of facing the murderous Cybertronian on his own. But he knew he wouldn't let it overwhelm him. Somewhere, possibly nearby, perhaps fighting her own battles to reach him, was Arcee. Futile as it might be, Jack would fight, just as relentlessly, for her.

Taking a painful breath, Jack eased forward out into the arena proper, trying to make, as quickly as his beaten legs would take him, for the nearest bit of cover. He had not walked more then a few feet from the tunnel when an explosion at his back sealed the exit behind him, followed by a spotlight, blinding to his limited vision, flaring to life, turning night to day.

Raising a hand to his eye, Jack was keenly aware of how exposed he was. Despite the searing pain from his broken ribs, Jack scrambled for the wood pile. Collapsing behind the makeshift barricade, the teen realized how futile his small cover likely was. Given that Airachnid had access to not only explosives but possibly other Cybertronian weapons, aside from those on her person, if the deranged Cybernetic woman wished to incinerate him it would be a small matter.

Trying to control his ragged breathing, each pull of air like a blade in his side, Jack waited in silence for his Hunter to make her move. As the minutes slipped by with only silence, Jack's frustration at not knowing what Airachnid had done to Arcee began to boil over, his anger getting the better of him.

"What have you done with Arcee, you twisted bitch!" Jack screamed out towards the source of the spotlight. There was no response. "The silent treatment, huh? That's ironic! I've lost count of the times I actually wished you'd shut your mouth, you psycho!" Again, his rage was met with silence.

"Come on! If you're going to come after me, I'm right here!" Jack taunted despite his better judgment. His face growing red with fury, Jack crawled slowly to his feet, exposing himself just enough to see over the edge of the woodpile. The glare from the spotlight made it impossible to see anything of the area in front of him, his left and right sides the only clear line of sight.

"What do you want, Airachnid? You've got me! If that's what this is about, getting revenge on the _Human_ who torched your ship, then finish it! Just let Arcee go!"

The pop that suddenly blared across the arena caused Jack to jump involuntarily before reflex brought him down instinctively behind the meager cover. The pop turned to an audible screech, and Jack realized belatedly that he was listening to what had once been the Public Address system for the miners in the yard. When at last his enemy spoke, it was not at all what he had expected to hear.

"_You are not without courage. That we will give you…boy." _

The grating, broken voice which washed over him was not one he had ever heard before. At least not one he could recall. However, the voice was no humans, of that he was sure.

"Who are you?" Jack asked. "What is this? What do you want?"

The cackle that served as his response, jarring and clearly unstable, rang out over the arena, going on for some time. When at last it subsided the voice seemed to be speaking to itself as much as to him.

"_What do we want? So much…so much that was taken from us. But…we can't get that back now…no, no we can't partner, not now…" _Jack listened to the distorted conversation, growing more bewildered then fearful of this being who had reigned unceasing destruction down upon both him and Arcee.

"_No, can't get it back, can't get it back. But…we can make them remember what they forgot…oh yes, partner, we can make them remember us…make her remember…" _

That last caught Jacks attention. By her, Jack new the broken voice could only be referring to Arcee.

"Where is she?" Jack screamed out at the voice.

"_Safe…safe for now. She'll remember, yes, she'll see. But…for now…it's just us, kiddo." _

"It's me? You're after me? Why?"

"_Because…you made her forget. Made her forget us. Together…for so long…through so much. Then I was gone, and she wasn't there…but she was there, wasn't she? No…not us that she found. That was…something else. But she should have been there before they killed us and she wasn't. She was always fast…so fast. But she wasn't there. Why? Why not?" _

The voice rambled for several seconds more, as though trying to remind itself of something important, asking mumbled questions Jack could not discern.

"_No…no, remember. Remember. She wasn't there because she was with him, protecting him instead of saving us. Then she forgot about us. Because of him…because of…because of HIM!" _

And suddenly there was a new sound in the arena, one that Jack recalled keenly. Mere hours before, the same sound had preceded the mining town's flagpole being sheared clean through, and Jack recalled Arcee's chilling War story.

_Hacks! Scrap…_Jack thought before realizing that his cover would not be nearly enough to stop the carnage inducing device. Stumbling to his feet in a mad scramble Jack did the only thing he could do. He ran as though Death itself was at his back. Which, in a way, it was.

The high pitched whine of the Hack grew louder as it descended behind him, moving through the woodpile as though the planks had been made of mere paper. Rebounding off the hard pact and heat baked earth the weapon caromed off, striking the hard stone around the collapsed tunnel exit before cutting through the air once more, it's path chaotic but no less lethal. The walls of the arena where pact with enough material to keep the device rebounding off one service after another until, at last, it would possibly meet flesh and bone. Not that the last would slow the weapon much if at all. Jack wondered morbidly just how much longer the Cybertronian death dealer would continue it's ricochet long after it made a bloody mess of him.

'_Yeah…that's what you need to be thinking right now.' _Jacked berated.

Though his chest screamed in protest at the pressure his overworked lungs where applying to his one or more broken ribs, Jack continued to run, trying to make his path as erratic possible while listening for the telltale pitch of the weapon, the spotlight following his progress without falter.

"_Right…be afraid, human. No hope…like we felt in that place, alone in the darkness…no hope…"_

'_Perfect_,' Jack thought angrily. '_Arcee and I traded one nutcase for another._'

Feeling on the verge of collapse, Jack at last spotted a beacon of hope. Concealed partially in the dirt was the remains of a large metal slurry pipe with a slight breach visible along it rust covered length. There was no guarantee the aged sun kissed steel would protect him from the spinning blade, nor that something just as lethal had not made it's home inside. Weighing his options between the aerial weapon and a poisonous snake, Jack chose the more organic of two evils.

From over his shoulder, Jack could hear the whine of the Hack grow suddenly louder as it tore through the skeleton of a nearby vehicle. The device was coming his way. Without further hesitation Jack dove for the breach, knowing mid-air that his landing would not be pleasant.

Hitting the inside of the pipe like dead weight, Jack instinctively curled against both the pain and the sound of the Hack cutting a screeching swath along the track of pipe. Then it was gone, the sound of it's destructive path growing faint. For now, at least, Jack was safe. At least, from the weapon. There was, however, still the matter of his would-be killer.

"_Smart, boy. Very smart. Didn't even notice that pipe. Eyes…eyes aren't what they used to be, are they? No…no they're not…"_ The voice behind the light seemed suddenly distracted, it's murmurs focused elsewhere before turning back to him. "_Time…time to say hello again. But…I'll be back, boy. Don't you worry none. Yes…not done yet…not done." _

_Then the voice was gone, and Jack was alone. Try as he might, however, Jack could barely move. His injuries had been made worse by the plunge into both the tunnel and now the pipe. Save for a sliver of moonlight coming through the breach, Jack could see nothing of the pipe's interior. The gas-lantern remained behind the woodpile, if the hack had not destroyed it. _

_For all Jack knew, the pipe ended in a dead-end just meters away in either direction. It would not aid his escape from the arena even were he able to move easily. For now, he was trapped, just as his demented warden intended. For the first time, Jack began to feel truly hopeless. _

_Somewhere close by, Arcee waited. Of that Jack was certain, the voice's parting words seeming to confirm it. He had to get to her, to try to rescue her from whatever the twisted being had planned. The only question which remained was how. _

_To be Continued… _


	4. Chapter 4

Transformers Prime: Lost, But Found

Part Four

_The Present…_

Arcee knew she was dreaming. In it, she was young again, by human standards long, long ago. She was on Belsaris, a small moon just a few hundred light-years from lost Cybertron. The Autobot legion, under Optimus Prime's command, had retaken a massive Energon refinery on the moon's icy southern continent. The battle had been hard fought, and devastating for both sides. Standing as a solitary figure on a glacial plateau overlooking the battlefield, Arcee watched the medical units move amongst the aftermath, checking still forms for signs of living sparks. Somehow she knew they would find few if any.

"Ain't you a sight." Came a husky baritone at her back. Arcee needn't have turned to know who it was. "Like a winged messenger, come from the All-Spark to see the lost put to rest."

"Very poetic." Arcee replied somberly.

"I have my moments, I suppose." Cliffjumper remarked, moving up to stand beside her. "After-all, I ain't just a another pretty face."

"Not really in the mood for jokes right now." Arcee rebuked.

"Partner, ain't never a bad for smiles." Cliff observed. "Heck, with everything we've seen, and everything we've lost, I think we're entitled to find a happy moment when we can. Even with…all this." He finished, gesturing to the field of broken fighters.

Arcee was silent for a moment, mulling over Cliff's words amongst her myriad other thoughts. At last, the Cybertronian woman sighed, giving the battlefield one last look before turning to move away.

"I just hope this was worth it." She said, striding back towards the command bunker Prime had established after the victory. "We take something from the 'cons, they turn around and take something from us. Back and forth, back and forth. Doesn't feel like we're getting anywhere. At this point, Cybertron will stay lost."

Giving the Autobot a slap to the shoulder, Cliff tried his best to assuage his partner's doubt. "Prime is always saying that as long as there's even one of us left fighting, there's hope. And I aim to believe he's right." Cliff gestured to the husk of the Decepticon assault cruiser in the distance, a loss which had turned the tide against the enemy.

"Every day, 'Ol Megatron is loosing ships, special units, his Energon stockpiles. Everything that's given him the advantage in this War. We're chipping away at his ranks, and in the meantime the cowards and traitors that signed up with him get more and more desperate. Heck, I'd be willing to wager it won't be long before Starscream tries to stab him in the back, just like he did us. The 'cons are coming apart. And when that happens, we'll be there to finish 'em off."

Cliff reached out to set a comforting alloyed hand atop her shoulder.

"Trust me." He said with a grin.

Arcee, despite her best efforts, could not contain the small smile which appeared on her face. Part of her wanted to be annoyed that, once more, her stalwart partner had robbed her of a well stoked inner turmoil; however, as always, what he left in it's place was much better.

"Think we'll even be there to see Megatron put down once and for all?" Arcee asked.

"You betcha. Ain't nothing gonna keep us from that. It'll be you and me, all the way to the finish."

"Yeah. You and me." Arcee said, leaning in to rest her head on the larger Autobot's armored chest.

"Till the wheels come off, partner." Cliff whispered.

Then, she was awake…

…

When she opened her eyes, Cliff's face was still there, smiling at her with all the swagger and bravado she remembered. Then, slowly, the face changed, becoming strangely distorted. The smile vanished, replaced with a grim line of a mouth, and the face, once so full of life, became drawn out, mangled. Before her eyes Cliff's features became a twisted thing of nightmare. And then it blinked at her.

"_Welcome back, partner…" _It said slowly.

Arcee recoiled, her back pressed hard against the cold rock of the chamber, her arms and legs pulling against the salvaged magnetic restraints.

After a moment, her fear subsided enough for Arcee to gather herself. Though the nightmarish thing was real, it had yet to do anything to her beside trap her where she lay. He thoughts struggled to focus, and in a brief moment of clarity, she recalled that which was most important to her.

"Jack. Where's Jack?" She asked the twisted form before her.

For a moment, a clear, frightening rage filled the mangled visage of the thing looming over her. But, just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by a distracted, almost uncertain look as her captor began to mutter to himself.

"_You see…she still…still doesn't see us. She's forgotten us…should have killed him…torn the skin from his corpse…No, no, then she wouldn't understand…we couldn't make her…understand…" _

"Understand what? Cliff. Cliff, if it's you. Talk to me. Why are you doing this? What happened to you?"

"_You KNOW what Happened! You were THERE!" _The twisted figure bellowed, wheeling on one of the chamber's lighting rigs in a terror, smashing the thing into broken shards. "_You watched us die, and you did nothing! Where were you, where were you to save us like we saved you so many, many times?" _

"Cliff, Cliff I'm sorry. I thought you were lost. That there wasn't anything we could do to save you. The 'cons killed you, then they turned you into that…thing. Ratchet said there wasn't anything left to save."

"_Well he was wrong, wasn't he! We watched it all, from behind eyes that weren't ours. Watched us scream and tear and kill, listening to the voice, the voice in our mind, whispering, whispering…" _

Once more, the abomination that had been Cliffjumper grew almost still, murmuring to itself over and over again with words Arcee, even with her enhanced audio receptors, could not make out.

"Cliff, please. Please, listen to me. If I had known, that there was even the smallest chance you were still alive in there I would have stopped at nothing to get you back."

"_Then…where were you…?" _Cliff asked coldly, his uneven back still to Arcee.

"The mine collapsed. I thought…I thought you were gone. The team had to get out before…"

"_No! Not there. Before. Before they pulled the Spark from our chest and put in that darkness. Where were you to stop them?" _

Arcee tried to find her voice, but found she couldn't. She began to understand, at last, the betrayal Cliff believed he had suffered. Struggling through the anguish and torment which filled her chest, Arcee tried to keep her words clear as she spoke.

"I wanted to save you. I would have gone into the Nemesis myself to get you out…but we saw your Energon signature…stop. We…I thought, they had killed you. Cliff, all I wanted was to avenge you after that. I was…so filled with rage, I wanted to make them pay for taking you away…"

"_What changed?" _The mangled figure asked.

Arcee could only gaze at Cliff's back, unsure about how to respond. Sensing the sudden silence, the twisted hulk turned on her.

"_What changed?" _It asked her in a rage.

Thinking on that, eyes closed against Cliff's savage, patchwork countenance, Arcee wondered at that. It felt as though it has been a lifetime since she had thought back to those early days, when Cliff was newly gone, or so she had thought, and all her world was revenge. Then, as if to answer the question she had yet to voice to herself, she saw the face of a boy. The face she loved.

The look which crossed her face did not go unnoticed. Again, the thing which had once been Cliffjumper turned as if to speak to someone else in the room yet unseen.

"_You see? Yes, we knew the answer. Knew it all along. He made her forget. Made her forget about us. She would have come. She would have…if not for him." _Cliff muttered, his distorted voice shifting as if from one mouth to another. "_Kill him then. Kill him and she'll know our pain. Know our loss…" _

"No! Cliff, please, don't hurt him anymore!" Arcee pleaded, fighting against her bonds with intensity renewed. "Who ever it is you're talking to, don't listen. You're not a killer!"

"_You think you know who we are, Arcee?"_ Cliff asked her, gazing off into some unknown distance. _"Because we forgot. In that darkness, under so much rock there was only the cold empty hunger, and the Whispers, telling us to kill." _Slowly, Cliff raised his hands before his eyes, following the contours of battered alloy and eroded carbon.

"_Then…then, after an eternity with it, the voice stopped. We were alone, and we wondered why no one, not you, not Prime, or even the voice wanted us. So, we gave ourselves a new voice, and it filled us with thoughts. It gave us the strength to escape, to dig, to crawl and pull ourselves out of that place." _

Cliff turned to her then, moving slowly, hand outstretched towards her. Arcee tried her best not to pull back as the twisted limb grew close.

"_And, that entire time, crawling and digging thought the dark, we saw your face. We remembered, remembered things lost to us. Names and places. But…always, it always came back to you. Partner." _

Cliff came to a sudden stop, the tips of his worn fingers just inches from her.

"_When we came into the light again, we had so many questions. We wondered at why you never came for us. Why we were forced to pull ourselves from that abyss, alone. But…we had to wait. To be patient. We were broken. But, in the caves, among the shattered Energon and machines we found what was left of the 'cons." _

Once more, Cliff seemed to take in the limbs, worn and uneven, and at last Arcee understood why it was her lost partner appeared so…wrong.

"_We took their pieces, and made them ours. Fingers that did not fit, legs that did not work. But, we made them fit, and then we made them work. And then, we could move. We could walk. And we did. Across the desert under moonlight. And then…we watched. Watched the skies and the roads and we waited. So patient." _

And then, the thing which had been Cliff smiled for the first time. Arcee had never seen anything so ugly.

"_Then we found you, partner. Saw you, so fast and beautiful. And we wanted to kill you. To pull your head from your neck!" _For a moment Cliff seemed to loose himself even further, hands suddenly outstretched as if to seize Arcee by the throat. At the last moment, the broken figure seemed to regain some small control.

"_But, then we saw you weren't alone. We saw the human. Small and proud. We saw how he spoke to you and how you spoke back. And we remembered…remembered when you spoke to us like that. When you looked at us like you looked at him. And we knew what we had to do. We had to make you understand what you had done to us. Then…then you'd see why we are…what we are." _

Cliff stood then, as straight as his uneven form would allow, and for a moment he seemed as sure of himself as he had been when he had once been whole.

"_But, we had to be sure. Had to know if we would be more important to you, standing before you, then him. And here you are, faced with what we have become, and you still think of him. So, we will bring him here. Then, when we are done, you will know what it is to be like us. To have nothing left to love…" _

And then Cliff was moving away, the cold, stark realization of what he was going to do falling upon Arcee like a molten blade plunged into her heart.

"No! No! Cliff, don't do this! Please, Cliff!" Arcee screamed and begged at the monster's retreating back, pulling in desperation her bonds. "Damn it, no! Cliff! Please…Please…"

To be Concluded…


	5. Chapter 5

Transformers Prime: Lost, But Found

Part Five

The silence seemed to go on forever as Jack lay in the damp confines of the defunct pipe. It was difficult, between the haze of pain fogging his head and the still pervasive presence of night outside, to know how long he had been lying there in the wake of the attempt on his life within the makeshift area beyond.

His attacker, clearly not the Decepticon Airachnid, had left him to the mercy of the aerial killer device Arcee had called a Hack. That miniature death dealer had long since seemingly come to a stop somewhere among the makeshift walls and debris outside, likely lodging itself within some think piece of steel or stone even it could not sheer through.

Or so Jack hoped.

Body protesting, fiercely so, against movement, Jack at last managed to pull himself around enough to peer out of the small breach in the pipe's length. His captor had witnessed Jack's escape from death by evisceration, but had opted to leave the teen where he lay for the sake of another agenda. One which, Jack knew beyond doubt, involved Arcee.

Who this being was Jack could not begin to deduce. Though it was clear he was of Cybertronian origin, given his use of the Hack drones and metal shards taken from alien materials, it was yet unclear as to whether or not they were allied with the Decepticons or were working at this themselves. Airachnid had once served the Decepticons before going into business, as it were, for herself. It would figure that she would not be the only one of her kind to take that route.

Whoever it was appeared determined to make Jack pay with his life for some unknown slight. In the interim, Arcee was being held to await some unknown fate of her own. Jack did not intend to lie idle while that occurred. Jack wasn't arrogant enough to believe he stood a chance against this new Cybertronian terror anymore then he did against Airachnid. However, even without their Cybernetic strength or even intellect, Jack was not to be underestimated. Though he hoped, for both his and Arcee's sake, whoever their enemy was had, in fact, done so.

Taking a breath, steeling himself for anymore waiting perils, Jack pulled himself from the pipe's interior. As far as he could tell, he was alone. The spotlight which had set it's sites on him remained locked on his former hiding place as he made his way, carefully, and painfully, across the open ground, ears strained for any indication of the telltale whine of the drone.

Even after several moments, there was nothing. Jack mulled over whether or not to attempt to verbally coax his hunter out from possible hiding, but just as quickly decided against it. If his captor had truly left him, confident that the human had no where to go with the mine entrance blasted closed and a wall of welded cars and other materials on all sides, Jack had a window of opportunity he knew was closing fast. Despite the physical agony he was in, Jack was determined not to waste anymore time. Things were coming to a head. He could feel it. He had to find Arcee.

Taking further stock of his surroundings, Jack quickly began to search for anything that might be of use, perhaps something the Cybertronian had seen as useless from his perspective, but something that was, in fact, quite the opposite for Jack. Scattered around the arena were the same woodpiles and other stacks of abandoned materials as before. Closer inspections revealed nothing new. Trying to keep his growing frustration from getting the better of him, Jack, after a thought, moved to the wall of welded metal. Though it had been assembled makeshift from steel and iron scraps, sheeting, beams and even stripped vehicles, the wall proved studier then one might wager at first glance. Whoever his enemy was, they had taken their time assembling their murder ground.

Jack was neck deep in the wheel housing of a former pick-up when a new sound broke the silence. Something was coming, something with heavy footfalls, overland beyond the confines of the wall. From the rapid, if uneven, pace, it was coming fast. Jack wasn't in need of a blaring announcement to know his captor was returning, and with purpose.

"Scrap." He breathed. "Come on, Jack. Think."

The footfalls growing ever louder, Jack could feel his heart rate skyrocket, his emotions somewhere between fear and anger over his inability to deliver himself from his confinement for both his and Arcee's sake. Teeth clenched, Jack began pulling at the welding before him in desperation.

"_We thought you were made of stronger stuff then that…" _Came a voice from above. The footfalls had ceased, and now his enemy was revealed.

Stepping from the wall's top most tier, the Cybertronian dropped with a earth rattling impact to the arena floor. Seen fully in the glare from the still active spotlight, Jack beheld the thing which had come to kill him. Though it had clearly once been of the same species as Arcee, Prime and all the others, the Cybernetic being was barely recognizable as either Autobot or Decepticon. In point of fact, the creature looked like a twisted simulacrum of both.

With a face cut through with jagged lines, it's metal plates and alloyed limbs nearly broken or crudely mended, the Cybertronian was a veritable Frankenstein. Had Jack not been faced with the looming prospect of his imminent death, he none the less would have been terrified by the site.

Knowing that terror would do him little good, Jack tried to bury the fear welling up in him. Trying to spot a means of escape in his peripheral vision, Jack appeared to keep his focus on the twisted hulk.

"What have you done with Arcee?" Jack demanded. "If this is about me, then settle it. But let her go."

For a moment the monstrosity just seemed to peer down at him, even into him, trying to discern something Jack could only guess at. Then it laughed, a sound as retched as it's appearance.

"_We see why she loves you as she did us. So similar. So much alike." _The creature's face seemed, for a moment, almost sad. "_Another time, another place, we think…we would have liked you, boy. But…too much lost. Too much taken from us. Time to…balance it all out…" _Then the monster's eyes seemed to change, and it was something else altogether gazing down at him. Then it roared, a sound like a thousand tormented souls, and the broken creature was charging, twisted hands reaching out for him.

Jack did the only thing he could. He ran.

…

Had Arcee been human, she knew her tears would have flown freely as she struggled at her shackles, beating the magnetic restraints and their bindings against the stone of the chamber floor and walls, screaming her anguish and frustration at the near empty space.

Only a short time has passed since Cliff, or, rather, the monster that had once been Cliffjumper, had left her to seek out an imprisoned Jack. To kill him. Arcee could not recall any other time she had felt so powerless save for when she had watched Airachnid murder a partner and brother in arms during the early days of the War.

Then, as she was now, she had been bound, unable to strike back to save a friend. Now, it wasn't merely her partner that was in danger, but her love, her soul mate. Across a hundred lifetimes and across a thousand, thousand stars she knew she would never find another.

'_And he might already be dead.' _

The sheer notion of it was almost enough to plunge her into the same madness that has consumed Cliffjumper. Which, a part of her mind noted, was the point. Her former partner, cast into an abyss first by Dark Energon and then by empty revenge, wanted her to share in what he believed had been done to him by those he trusted most. Arcee knew, beyond doubt, that if he succeeded in killing Jack, she would very well become just as empty, just as monstrous.

'_No…no. I won't…let that happen.' _

As she continued to fight against her shackles, Arcee looked frantically about for something, anything, that might be of use. The chamber, however, was nearly bare save for the floodlights.

"Floodlights…" She said aloud. The lights were of human make, not Cybertronian. Which meant they had to have a power source. Shifting her body, Arcee looked for the cords running from the lights. Sure enough, she spotted them, running the length of the chamber. The cords ran the periphery of the stone room and out, beneath the steel door that would have kept her, possibly, locked in even without being bound. It was clear, even in his shattered state, Cliff had not been willing to take that chance.

'_Cliff…it really isn't you anymore, is it." _She thought. Her true former partner would have seen the opportunity, even if the current one did not. Going flat to the ground, Arcee worked her way, sliding and shimming as best she could, along the earthen floor towards the door and the cables. Coming, at last, to a rest beside both, Arcee knew the next part would be tricky.

The Magnetic restraints not only kept her limbs locked in place, but also locked out the use of her weapons. She needed her blades; however, without them, she would have to improvise. Thankfully, her blades were not the only sharp contours she had on her person. Something Jack had once pointed out, much to her chagrin, during one of the few quiet moments they had shared in recent months.

Shifting to her side, Arcee angled the sharp ending of her forearm's gauntlet plating. Believing she had the right position, Arcee smashed the sharp point against the cable. The housing on the massive bundle dented, but failed to split. She repeated the action, conscious of the noise the sound was making each time her attempt missed, striking the stone instead. Unperturbed, Arcee persisted. Again and again. Fearing that the cable would prove too resilient Arcee gave one last frantic stab down with a yell, and nearly rolled away instinctively when the cable split with a shower of sparks. Nearby, one of the lighting rigs went dark as it's power supply cut out. Thankfully, three more remained. Arcee would not have to attempt what she planed by Night Vision optics alone.

With the cabling cut, Arcee set to work on a second cord, knowing every second spent was another moment Jack was at the mercy of the twisted shade of Cliffjumper. It took less time to cut another cable, and at last Arcee had what she needed. Though it was an awkward attempt, to be sure, Arcee took hold of the two cables that, though cut, were still connected on one side to the generator outside the chamber. Each cord held a few hundred volts. Even combined they might not prove enough for what she was about to attempt. There was also the chance they would prove too much for what she intended. If it proved to be the later, as opposed to the former, then she could very well overload her Positronic systems, rendering her unconscious. Jack, however, could not afford for her not to take that risk.

'_Hold on Jack. Please.' _Arcee thought as a silent prayer.

Taking a beat, Arcee touched the magnetic cuffs to the exposed wiring of the cables, eyes shut against what might come next. After a moment nothing happened. Arcee felt a curse welling up in her throat when suddenly every light in the room blew with a pop and acrid smoke, followed by a small explosion out in the hall beyond. Arcee felt icy tendrils of electric current course thorough her. Then, just as quickly as it had come, it was over. Left in darkness, it took Arcee a moment to work through the disorientation and activate her NV-Mode.

Instantly the room's walls and steel door where visible. Smoke filled the chamber from the blown lights and a dim fire light was just barely visible from the under the door. Arcee's gaze drifted to her limbs and she was filled with the sudden desire to shout out. The Magnetic shackles were breached, their housing's blown by the feedback charge. With a pull of not even half her strength Arcee broke the restraints apart. Gathering herself together, Arcee stood to face the door.

"I'm coming, Jack."

…

"_Where do you think you're going to go, human? There is no escaping us. We will have balance. Eye…for an eye…"_

Somehow, despite his condition, Jack had managed to avoid the onslaught of destruction the twisted Cybertronian had wrought down on him in the ensuing melee after he had charged. It seemed the monstrous hulk was without energy weapons, perhaps a byproduct of his mangled limbs. The end result was a use of brute force and armored fists, smashing his way around the arena.

The only thing which has saved Jack thus far was the creature's inability to move quickly, his speed hindered by an uneven gait. Jack came to realize that his Frankenstein analogy was spot on. The demented Cybertronian was indeed composed of different parts, some of them Autobot, others Decepticon.

Jack wondered if this enemy wasn't some experiment set loose by Knockout. Arcee had spoken to Jack of the lab aboard the Decepticon flagship. It was possible the Cybertronian narcissistic Mengele might have created the thing as some mockery towards his enemies, Arcee being among them. However, that didn't quite explain the creature's obsession with seeing Jack dead.

'_If I live through this, I'll be sure to send him an email asking for the details…' _Jack mused sardonically, hunkered down behind the crumbled remains of several steel beams. Less then a yard away, the Auto-con mix match lumbered, searching for his target, speaking to whomever it was that appeared to be along for the ride in the creature's mind. It wouldn't take long for it to spot Jack, and there was no where left to fall back to.

'_Come on, Jack. Can't end this way.' _Jack could feel the cold hands of death closing in around him. However, it wasn't dread he felt in that moment, instead it was anger. Not for his enemy, but rather at himself. If he died, it meant he had failed everyone, Arcee most of all.

Somewhere, she might have still been at the mercy of the twisted monster now bearing down upon him. With the Autobots unaware of what had befallen them that night, no one would be there to help her, and Jack did not want to dwell on whatever fate awaited her once he was deposed of.

Though fury filled him at the thought, there was some measure of sadness. He loved Arcee, of that there was no question in his mind or his heart. It was painfully ironic that he had spent so much time obsessing over the affection of girls like Sierra, trying so hard to be the kind of popular guy she would want. Never once had he imagined that the girl, or, rather, the woman, meant for him was, literally, a million light-years away. And was from an entirely different race of beings. Then, against all cosmic odds, they had found each other.

And now, seemingly thanks to those same odds, he was about to be separated from her forever by a Cybernetic walking jigsaw puzzle. Less then 24 hours ago, Jack mused, he had planned for him and Arcee to be alone, laying out under the stars and the moonlight of the desert…

"Moonlight?" Jack said suddenly aloud. Somehow the thought turned his attention towards the nearest rim of the ramshackle wall. Much like the lumbering psychotic, less then a yard from his cover was the cab of a truck, smashed and pressed into the gap between a series of massive welded plates. What drew Jack's eye wasn't the truck itself, but that the glare from the moon, now low in the sky as the morning fast approached, was coming through it.

"No way…" Jack observed, his hope almost desperate. Feeling the broken hulk almost upon him, Jack took in one last deep breath through the fire in his chest before stumbling forward towards the truck and the small shaft of light.

"_There you are. Time to finish this…" _

"Don't think so, freak-show." Jack responded through gritted teeth, uncaring of whether or not the words reached the monstrosity. Coming up to the truck cab, Jack could see that the light was coming down through what had once been the engine block housing, now devoid of anything…and also horribly warped from the crush it has endured to fit the wall. The gap through the housing, however, was almost Miko sized.

"Figures…" Jack muttered bitterly. However, if the hole was his only escape, Jack would add dislocation to his list of injuries if he had to. Without hesitation, Jack clamored up into the remnants of the cab.

"_What are you…?"_ The deformed Cybertronian called out. _"No…No!" _

Then the thing was moving, faster then it seemed possible, spurned on by whatever hatred had brought it this far. Jack, for his part, now had all the encouragement he needed to push his way through. Already wedged, he wondered if the task was impossible, but did not relent.

With his ribs screaming, the fractures and break growing only worse, Jack fought and struggled through the blinding pain, a cry forming on his lips as he inched through the gap. Suddenly the world was tearing metal and a crash of steel on steel as the patchwork thing smashed into the makeshift wall, twisted fingers trying to rip at it's own construct to reach him, bellowing it's tormented scream as it did so.

"_Can't…escape…have to…have balance!" _Again and again the creature smashed against the wall, lost to it's rage. _"Jaaack! Jaaack!"_

Pushed to the edge of consciousness by the pain in his chest, Jack's fingers at last found purchase on the opposite side of the gap. Jack pulled himself up and through, tipping over the edge of the hole and down to the desert floor only a few feet below. The fall might as well have been two stories up. The moment Jack's body hit earth, the second of his fractured ribs gave with an audible crack. This time, it was Jack's turn to scream.

Even through the heavy veil of agony, Jack was still keenly aware that he was not out of danger, not even remotely. Though the thing still in the arena was temporarily lost to blinding rage, it wouldn't take long for it to realize that it was hardly trapped. He had to get moving.

Jack pushed himself up, taking in the area beyond the arena for the first time. Amazingly, he had not been taken as far as he had feared from where both he and Arcee had been mere hours before. In the near distance was the mining town, and closer then that was…

"The power station." Jack croaked aloud. He and Arcee had planned to make for the structure before they had been ambushed and separated, hoping to use it as cover to get beyond the town and back out into the desert. If he was able to make it, there might have been the chance that the station had a Land-Line of some kind, perhaps for emergencies. It was a long shot, but the night had been survived by one long shot after another. At this point, Jack figured he was damn near an expert.

Struggling to remain conscious, Jack stumbled for the station, the abomination's screams of rage still at his back.

…

Arcee, after several wrong turns and one dead end, had finally emerged from the abandoned mines and into the late night, soon to be pre-dawn morning judging by the color of the horizon. Only a few yards away was the outskirts of the mining town. Almost instantly, she was on the move. Though her damaged systems prevented her from shifting into vehicle-mode, she was still quick footed. It didn't take long to make her way back through the town, weapons drawn.

Though her energy levels were still low, she had stored enough in the time since she had come to after Jack's removal of the sliver in her chest for one or two good shots. After that, she was stuck using her blades. Though a part of her felt tormented over the idea of cutting down what was left of Cliffjumper, for what her former partner had wrought thus far Arcee would do what was required to see things come to an end, once and for all.

Clearing the town, Arcee scanned for any sign of Jack. She reminded herself that if both she and her love survived the next hour or so, and they were able to return home, she would insist Ratchet find a non-painful means of inserting com devices into their human charges.

Coming out onto the spot where Cliff had blown out the desert floor from under them, Arcee cleared the breach and began making a beeline for the power station when she spotted a small silhouette moving along open ground beyond the far side of the structure. It took her optics a moment to convince her of what she was seeing.

"Jack?" Arcee cried out. At her call the figure stopped, looking towards her. Even from this distance, she could see the teen was in a bad way, barely able to stand. "Jack! Stay there!" She called to him, setting out towards him in a sprint. She had cleared several yards before she realized that Jack was waving his arms, trying to warn her of something. It was only then that she noticed the walled construct not far from where Jack continued to stumble forward. It was also then that she could hear the smash of metal and the screams of something completely soulless.

"Jack!" Arcee shouted, pushing herself forward. She had managed another few yards before the walled construct gave it's last long shriek, the makeshift barrier giving way under the onslaught it was enduring. From the wreckage emerged Cliff and the twisted thing he had become. Even from her distance, Arcee could see that whatever control the monster had was gone completely. As if to confirm this, Cliff let loose a wail so devoid of anything sentient it was almost enough to still the spark in Arcee's chest. Then he was barreling forward, straight for the crumbled form that was Jack.

"No!" Arcee screamed. "Don't touch him!" Moving fast, Arcee was past the power station, then Jack, her canon's firing the few shots she had remaining. Three blasts arched out towards the twisted husk that had been Cliffjumper. Two shots screamed overhead, but one caught the former Autobot across what remained of his face. Cliff's shrieks of rage were replaced by those of pain as he grabbed for his now burning visage. Following through Arcee brought out her blades, leaping forward, angling her swords for a killing blow that would separate Cliff's head from his shoulders.

Though Cliff's soul might have been lost, his broken mind, however, still retained some measure of the warrior he had once been. Recovering from Arcee's energy blasts, Cliff pulled back from the strike, bringing a warped fist around to catch Arcee across the chin. The strength behind the hit was more then even Cliff had once possessed. The strength of more then one Cybertronian in a single shell. Arcee was spun about by the blow, her cranial components rattled.

Trying to focus, Arcee brought her blades and arms up to a guard position, trying to protect vital systems still damaged from the ambush hours before. Her guard caught Cliff's follow up strike, but her fallen comrade easily countered, anticipating her stances. It was only then that a part of Arcee's mind realized her great disadvantage. Across hundreds of battles, Cliff had seen Arcee grow as a fighter, seen her strengths and her weaknesses. Even if the Autobot she had once loved was gone, those memories were still there. It was clear he planned to put them to use.

Despite the odds against her, Arcee fought, keeping herself as a barrier between what remained of Cliff and Jack's semi-conscious form. All the while, Cliff continued to reign blows, trying to beat her into submission. Arcee knew she would not be able to stand against him for too much longer.

"Jack! Jack, listen to…me! You have to get up!" Arcee called out to her charge. "Jack! Get on your feet!"

Hearing her calling out to him, Jack groaned, his one eye fluttering open, trying to shake off the agony that threatened to pull him back down into unconsciousness.

"Jack!" Arcee cried out once more.

"Arcee?" Jack called back, turning to find her engaged in battle against the abomination that wanted to kill him.

"Jack…get to the…station!" Arcee yelled, trying to deflect the powerful blows coming at her. "Go!"

Fighting to get to his feet, Jack staggered once more towards the dilapidated structure, hoping to find something within to aide them. At his back, the creature roared his fury at seeing his quarry on his feet and on the move yet again.

"_You'll watch me…kill him…then you'll…know…then you'll know!" _It screamed.

"You won't hurt him…Cliff! Ever again!" Arcee cried, the ferocity of her attacks renewed.

That brought Jack up short. "Cliff?" He asked aloud. Turning about, Jack beheld the monstrous form, trying to see it, to really see it, for the first time. "No…it can't be…" Jack's mind conjured up the image Arcee had once shown him, of an Autobot who had once been special to her, almost as much as he now was, one she had lost before they had met. "Cliffjumper?"

"Jack! Go!" Arcee screamed.

Her command enough to snap him out of his startling realization, Jack turned his back to the fight, making for the chain link fence which was meant to keep out unauthorized personnel. Though Jack was as unauthorized as they got, the teen figured the state's power company would make the exception, given the circumstances. Finding a break in the fence, Jack was through, silently praying that the building's doors weren't impossibly locked. Coming up to the main double doors, Jack was rewarded as they gave way with a loud screech of long rusted hinges.

Stepping inside, Jack was greeted by the dark interior. Barely able to see, he stumbled inside, knowing that if there was a Landline still connected it would be in some kind of office space. Not more then a few feet from the doors Jack could make out a rusted stairwell, one which led up to a room on the second level above the inactive generator turbines.

Head swimming, Jack stumbled for the stairs. He had made it less then half way up before a sound like a wrecking ball filled the space, just before two massive figures crashed through the concrete walls at the base of the stairs, tearing the first section away and nearly knocking Jack over the rail.

Catching himself, Jack remained on his feet, watching as the two figures threw themselves away from one another, only to merge once more in a hail of blades and fists. Jack couldn't tell who was winning, but knew he still had to find the Landline. Jack ascended what now remained of the stairway, getting to the top as the fight down below only seemed to grow ever more frantic.

The structure at the top of the stairway proved to not be an office, but the power station's control room. Jack looked about the dark space for anything that resembled a phone or radio. There was nothing, save for the dials, switches, and levers on the control board in front of him.

Jack suddenly had an idea, one that likely wouldn't work, but it was all he could think to do.

In the time he had been with the Autobots he had watched Ratchet work the controls for the various consoles and stations in the silo's man hub, and though Raf had a better understanding of all of it then he did, Jack none the less had a fairly decent memory.

Jack began flipping switches and turning dials, watching for any telltale sigh of life.

Turning a dial, Jack was rewarded with the sudden glow of a red light, beneath which was stenciled 'Generator Start.' Fingers crossed, Jack depressed the decayed rubber button beneath the faded letters. At once a low rumble filled the space, followed by the screeching whine of the massive turbines coming to long absent life in the main room beyond. Before him, various status lights glowed, readouts showing which turbines where now pouring power back into the mining town's grid.

Behind Jack, dust covered windows he had not taken notice of before were filled with dull illumination. Lurching towards them, Jack cleared the dust and grim away and beheld the brilliant lights of the abandoned town shining in the pre-dawn darkness. If the other Autobots or the Task Force where out searching for him and Arcee, Jack prayed he had just lit a significant torch for them to spot in the Nevada desert.

An echoing crash, and Arcee's painful cry, drew Jack about. Staggering towards the door, the teen could see Arcee now sprawled out on the concrete floor of the turbine room, hand clenched firmly to her chest, the armor there visibly bend inward. Jack recalled Arcee's wound, and the Spark Chamber which had almost been punctured by shrapnel laden explosives Cliff had set in place to kill him.

Looming above her was the twisted former Autobot, fists raised for a killing blow.

"_Didn't want…to hurt you. Forced us…you've forced…us. But we'll…bring you back…make you like us. He'll die and we'll…have you." _

"No you won't you cross-wired son of bitch!" Jack screamed from the stairway. The warped Cliffjumper spun on him.

"_Kill you…first!" _He roared, stomping forward towards the cornered teen.

Watching her fallen comrade tear towards her love, Arcee tried to get to her feet, desperate to stop him. Cliff's final blow, however, had breached the already damaged conduits leading to her Spark-Chamber. Already she could feel her Energon levels draining. If she did not act soon, both she, and most importantly, her Jack, would be lost to the monster. She had to fight. One last desperate act to save the most precious thing she had in this Universe.

Hand clenched to her chest, Arcee pulled herself along the ground, the ragged grind of the turbines masking her anguished, frustrated cries as she tried to reach Cliff before he fell upon Jack.

'_Wait…the Turbines…' _Arcee thought with a start. And suddenly she remembered the Magnetic Shackles, and what she had done to free herself from them. "Come on. On…your feet, Solider!" She screamed.

Scrambling upright, Arcee leapt, one last desperate gamble, towards Cliff. Seizing her lost friend about his neck, Arcee held on with all the remaining strength she had remaining.

"_What… are you doing? We…must have…balance!" _The monster roared.

"This time, partner, we go together!" Arcee screamed. "It's you and me, remember? Till the wheels come off!"

"Arcee?" Cried Jack, reaching for her.

Their eyes locked, and Arcee smiled at him. "I love you." Then she pulled with everything she had.

The two Cybertronians spun and fell, smashing down upon the still spinning turbines. All at once, thousands upon thousands of volts of electricity coursed through them, both wailing as their internal systems overloaded_. _

Enveloped by the current, the twisted form that had once been Cliffjumper spammed and shrieked, eyes locked on the focus of his torment and rage, hand outstretched towards Jack, even as the mockery of life that dwelled within him dimmed and, finally, was extinguished.

The lights of the power station blew with a shower of sparks, and then all was darkness.

…

"Control, this is search team Sigma-Charlie, we have arrived at location," The Blackhawk pilot reported into the audio pick-up just at his lips. "Orders? Over."

"Maintain cordon, Sigma. Papa Bear and convoy are en-route." Came the response over the Task-Force's secure frequency.

"Copy control. Sigma entering holding pattern, awaiting further instructions." Following suit, the Pilot banked, continuously circling high above the buildings down below. In the near distance, the Pilot could see, silhouetted against the sunrise, the small plume of dust which heralded the small convoy of vehicles making their ways towards the mining town. With-in moments, the lead vehicle, a red and blue Semi-Truck, was clearly visible, followed closely by what appeared to be an EMV, and an armored SUV.

"Control." The Pilot reported. "Papa Bear is on site."

"Confirmed, Sigma." Came the prompt response.

Turning to his co-pilot, the aviator made sure the audio pick up was off before he asked aloud, "Wonder what happened down there?"

The other pilot only shrugged. "What ever it is, they called the big guns."

Without anything more to add, the two returned their focus to watching the skies for any other helicopters that might try to investigate the electrical explosion that had lit up the night sky for miles around less then an hour before. Down below, the convoy pulled into the town, speeding for the remnants of the Power Station complex.

…

"Ratchet?" Optimus inquired, the Autobot leader having shifted from his vehicle form the moment they had come upon the ruined building.

"It's here, Optimus." The red and white Medic replied, the device in his hand still chiming. "The Energon flare originated on this spot."

"Bulkhead? Have you established contact with Arcee or Jack?" Prime asked the massive Autobot trailing behind them.

"No. Still nothing." Bulkhead answered. "Miko's been trying Jack's cell. Nothing on that end either."

At Bulkhead's side, the small pigtailed girl could only mirror her partner's almost defeated expression.

"Then," Optimus said slowly. "We must be prepared for the worst."

With that, the Prime stepped forward into the charred remnants of the structure before them.

What they found within left them all staggered.

Amongst the remnants of charred, twisted metal turbines was Jack Darby, huddled against Arcee's still form, much of the Cybertronian woman's armor mirroring the blackened wreckage about her. If Jack was aware of their presence, he gave no indication of it as he ran his hand slowly across Arcee's cold polymer cheek, repeating the motion as he quietly whispered to her.

Standing at Bulkhead's side, Miko raised her hands to her mouth, tears already forming as she took in the site in front of them. The girl began to cry softly.

Moving past his own shock, Ratchet strode into the midst of the debris, running his scanner across Arcee's body, Prime quickly coming up beside him, his gaze taking in first Jack, then his fallen Second in Command.

"Ratchet?" Optimus asked, his deep, ancient tone holding back the unvoiced question.

"I…I don't know, Optimus. There's so much damage…" The medic answered slowly.

Shifting his attention solely to the human teen, the Prime knelt close to Jack.

"Jack?" Optimus said gently. "Are you injured?" After a moment, with no response from the teen, Prime added, "She would want us to see you to safety."

That last seemed to shake something in Jack's lost eyes. Leaning in close, so as to press his cheek to hers, Jack answered quietly, "I was supposed to keep her safe. We kept each other safe. We…made that promise to each other." Though he had thought them spent, Jack could feel new tears fill his eyes before they began to fall. "I…couldn't…couldn't save her."

Optimus tried to find the right words, recalling so many moments when he had done the same to assuage the souls of those of his people who had, likewise, been left behind by fallen comrades. Both friends, and those bound together in the deepest of ways.

"By the All-Spark!" Bulkhead bellowed suddenly. "It…it can't be."

Turning to see what Bulkhead had discovered, it was then that Prime truly saw the other form sprawled amidst the wreckage.

There, visible in the twisted visage of a mangled Cybertronian, where features Optimus recognized all too well.

"Cliffjumper." Optimus breathed. "What new horror is this?"

"No…" Jack growled under his breath, none the less loud enough for those assembled to hear. "Not Cliff. Not Arcee's Cliff. A monster, wearing his face. What was left of it…"

Prime looked between the two fallen figures, slowly putting the pieces together.

"Jack? Did he do this?" Optimus asked. "Is he the reason you and Arcee vanished?"

Jack only nodded, his face still pressed to Arcee.

After a moment Optimus turned to Bulkhead as Miko broke away, moving to sit quietly next to Jack, the girl putting a comforting hand across his back.

"Bulkhead, contact Agent Fowler. Have him summon a suitable transport. We must see Arcee and…what remains of Cliffjumper back to base." The Autobot leader then looked to Ratchet. "Are they both truly lost, old friend?"

"There is nothing from Cliffjumper. Less then nothing. There's not even an residual Energon signature. It's like…he's empty." Trying to conceal how such an observation disturbed him deeply, Ratchet moved the medical scanner back to Arcee's still form. "She, however, isn't lost yet…"

At that, Jack's head snapped up to stare fiercely into the medic's focused countenance.

"What?" The teen asked, almost trembling. "She's still alive?"

"I…I can't be sure. Not here. We need to get her back to the Silo. I need the proper equipment…" Ratchet said, placing a hand over Arcee's chest as though trying to read her Spark through his very fingers.

"Then we have to get out of here! We need…we need to…Arcee…" And then Jack was falling, Miko stepping in to catch her friend before he could collapse to the floor.

"Jack!" The girl cried in alarm.

"Bulkhead?" Optimus asked, looking to the massive warrior.

"Fowlers on the way, boss. That 'copter's coming down too. It'll take Jack to the Hospital at Nellis Air Force Base. No questions."

"Very well. Then let us see this longest of nights to an end. And may the All-Spark be merciful."

…

_Two days later… _

Jack knew he was dreaming, but he didn't care. In that place, there wasn't any pain, nor any sadness. And, most important, he wasn't alone.

The sunrise was a beautiful thing, perfect, bright, and warming. They sat side by side atop the hill on the mesa where they had spent so much time, even before they had opened their hearts fully to one another. Jack had once asked his mother how someone knew when they were in Love. June had answered her son, a look of both surprise, and, perhaps, even a bit of melancholy on her face.

"Silence." She had told him.

"Say what now?" Jack had replied in turn.

"When you can sit, side by side, and say everything you need to without saying anything at all." June told him. "That's when you know it's love." Then she had laughed. "So? Who is she?"

Jack, knowing how strange that explanation would have been, deflected his mother's question, chalking the whole thing up to a report on philosophical questions and nothing else.

But, he had never forgotten what his mother had said. Now, seated besides Arcee, the two having been comfortably silent for hours, Jack had a better understanding of what he had been told. It was a moment of clarity he didn't want to end. Something somewhere in his mind wanted desperately to hold on to what they had in that place, though he couldn't know for sure why.

"You're dreaming, Darby." Arcee told him, crystal blue eyes, lit like aqua gemstones, looking down at him. "You have to wake up sometime."

"Why? I have everything I want right here." Jack answered, turning in place so he could lean back, head resting on the soft black polymer along her thigh. "I'm not in any rush."

Arcee laughed. It was a sound different from the one others heard in lighter hearted moments while on missions or back in the HQ. This was the laugh she shared with him, the one free of her rank and responsibility. It was more beautiful then a thousand perfect sunrises.

"So," she teased softly, using the tip of her alloyed finger to play with the bangs of his hair. "You're saying you'd rather have the dream version of me then the real thing?"

That brought Jack up short. "What? I…no. I just don't…" He tried to say.

"Don't what?" Arcee asked him, her face growing concerned.

"I don't know. I just have…this feeling." He told her. "Like, if I wake up, you…you won't be there."

Arcee's face softened, the Cybertronian woman caressing the side of Jack's face gently.

"Oh, Jack. Whether you're sleeping or awake, I'm always with you." She whispered. "Just like you're with me."

Suddenly, Jack could feel the dream fading, the glare of their perfect sunrise fading, their private world growing distant.

"No. Not yet." Jack said, getting to his feet, both hands wrapped around her single one. "I want to stay, like this, just a little longer."

"Nothing perfect lasts forever, Jack. And we all have to face what lays ahead, sooner or later."

"Why? Who wrote that stupid rule?" Jack snapped. "They can't take this. They've already taken too much!" He raged, eyes filled with bitter tears.

"Jack. Look at me." Arcee told him softly, lifting his face with a gentle finger on his chin. "Everything happens, no matter how bad, for a reason. If we live to see what comes next, we either do so stronger then we were before, or we let it beat us, and leave us empty. We find the strength to push ahead, either in ourselves, or from something given to us by someone else."

Leaning down, Arcee pressed her brow to his, eyes closed against the haze that slowly enveloped them both. "Remember, how much I love you. Hold on to that."

"No…not yet. Please…" Jack whispered, putting his hands on Arcee's face, holding her close. "Please…

Then the dream was over.

…

"Jack?" Asked a familiar voice. "Jackie, can you hear me?"

Reluctantly, Jack slowly opened his eyes, the light of day stabbing into his pupils, making him wince slightly. Taking a moment, Jack tried to blink away the blurry world that followed, eyes trying to focus on the face in front of him. After a moment, his gaze took in the weary face of June Darby.

"Mom?" Jack asked, turning his head slightly for the first time to either side, taking in the room he currently occupied. From the white walls, tile floors, and the beeping equipment just past his head it didn't take Jack much deductive reasoning to figure out where he was. "What am I doing…?"

"You were in an accident, baby." June answered, reaching out to touch his face. "Don't you remember?"

Jack's mind, full of murky images, tried to piece together the events that had placed him in a hospital bed god knew where. After a moment, Jack began to recall bits and pieces. Explosions, a great deal of pain, fear, and…

"Arcee!" Jack shouted before he could stop himself.

"Who?" June asked him, her face confused and even more worried.

"His partner." Answered another familiar voice from the doorway to the room. Turning his head, Jack followed June's gaze towards the slightly rotund gentlemen coming in to stand at the foot of the bed. Agent William Fowler, always somewhat disheveled, nodded down at Jack, his eyes keenly knowing as he smiled at June, picking up from where he had started when he'd first appeared.

"Agent Rebecca Cera, Jack's partner in the Department I assigned him too at the bureau. I believe she spoke to you once or twice. Her friends in the department tend to use her initials. It's not something she let's just anyone do." Fowler said, trying to feign some measure of bemusement before shifting to a more serious expression.

"I'm afraid she was behind the wheel, riding with Jack, when the other car in the accident lost control. If it wasn't for her quick thinking, things might have been even worse."

"Oh my god. No one told me…" June stammered. "Where is she?"

That question froze the breath in Jack's chest, his heart racing as he looked to Fowler for the answer behind the answer.

"Still at Nellis. Her condition was critical. When they moved Jack here for observation the Medical Officer overseeing her kept her under intensive care."

"Will she recover?" June asked. Again Jack's silent gaze asked a similar, if slightly different, inquiry.

"The Medical Officer said it was touch and go…but that he expects her to recover."

Jack felt as though an impossible weight had been lifted from his chest. June, for her part, breathed a much different sigh of relief.

"Thank God." She said. "Please, when she recovers, tell her I'd like to thank her for saving my Jack's life."

Fowler nodded. "I'm sure she'd appreciate that." Clearing his throat, the Autobot's liaison gestured towards Jack. "Mrs. Darby, I understand this hasn't been a easy last few days, but I'd like the chance to speak to Jack for a moment, if that's alright. I'd just like to ask Jack what he can remember."

Looking unsure, June exchanged glances first with Jack, then with Fowler before finally nodding.

"Alright. You're aunt and uncle will want to know you're awake. Miko and Raphael as well. they've been waiting to see you. I'll bring them up in a bit." Rising from her chair, June leaned over to kiss her son on the forehead. "I'll be back, sweetheart." Turning to Fowler, June gave the Federal Agent a stern look that would have withered lesser men. "He needs his rest, Agent Fowler. He's not one of your regular people. Don't press him."

"I understand, Mrs. Darby. I won't be but a minute." Fowler answered, giving his best reassuring smile. On Fowler, such a thing did not come easy.

Giving the two of them a final look, June left the room. Following her only so far as the door, Fowler closed it behind her. After a second to ensure she wasn't standing on the other side, he turned to look at Jack.

"Good to see you awake, kid. Even after talking with Prime and seeing that thing for myself, I still can't believe…"

"Where's Arcee?" Jack asked intensely.

"Right. Sorry. She's back at the HQ. Still recovering. Ratchet says she was nearly gone when they got her hooked up to all that Cyber-Tech gear Prime has in the Silo." Fowler took a beat before continuing. "He told me she needed a lot of work. That electrical blast she took cooked her pretty good. Combined with all the other damage she sustained thanks to that…thing, it was almost enough to…well, you get the idea."

Taking the vacant seat June had left behind, Fowler folded his broad arms over his ample stomach before continuing.

"Call it some kind of poetic justice, fate, or whatever, but that walking corpse took the brunt of the voltage those old turbines where dishing out. Ratchet says whatever it was keeping Cliffjumper alive was cooked out of him. He's nothing but a pile of burned parts now." Fowler shook his head.

"I never really got the chance to know him when he was still alive. Before the 'cons turned him into…whatever the hell he was. Prime says he was a good solider. That he and Arcee had been through a lot. Must have been hard for her. Not only to see him become that thing, but to take him out." Fowler's gaze seemed to grow distant. "It's always harder to fight an enemy when they used to be a friend."

Shaking off whatever it was that had come to mind, Fowler turned his attention to Jack, who had remained mostly silent.

"Well, the doctors here say you'll pull through completely in a few days. You had some pretty nasty rib breaks and a hell of a concussion. How you were able to stay on your feet as long as you did is, well, pretty damn incredible. If I had a half dozen more agents built like you, kid, I might be able to take on that Starscream joker and his cronies even without the Prime and the rest."

For the next few minutes, Fowler asked Jack about whatever he could remember. The attack on the Highway, the mining town, and the drones Cliffjumper had used among other things. Whether for good or ill there were still bits and pieces Jack could not recall fully, and he wondered if that wasn't for the best. The image of Arcee, blackened from the electrical current and unmoving, had risen to the surface of his thoughts and it alone was almost more then he could bare. Soon after, June Darby returned, the others in tow. Taking a moment to exchange professional pleasantries, Fowler departed, leaving Jack, his family, and friends to better things.

Hours later, his mother, aunt, and, finally, Miko and Raf were convinced to return home to rest. Jack was alone in the semi-darkness of the hospital, pale moonlight streaming through the windows. Rain had begun to fall outside, and the steady beep of his monitor was his only company. When the phone adjacent to his bed rang, it was almost enough to make his heart skip a beat. Reaching out, Jack picked up the handset.

When at last he heard the voice on the other end, Jack tried, in vain, to hold back the tear that rolled down his cheek.

"I'm sorry…" He told her.

"For what?" She asked.

"I couldn't…I should have stopped him."

"How?"

"I don't…I should have fought harder. Found a way."

She sighed. "It wasn't a fight you could win. He…it, knew that. That's why it separated us."

"Then I should have gotten to you. Found help. If…things had been different."

"I protect you, Jack. That's the promise I made."

"I thought we were supposed to protect each other. It goes both ways."

"And you do. You protect me when it matters most."

"When?" Jack asked her.

"When I start to loose hope. When I don't believe we can win. That we can keep this world safe, and make it a new home." She told him quietly. "All I have to do is look at you and all of that doubt is a million light years away."

Even with the distance separating them, Jack could almost feel her fingers wrapped about him, though all he could do in kind was to hold the phone all the more tightly.

"That's how you keep me safe, Jack." She breathed, her voice seeming to envelope him. "That's why, if I had to, I'd do it again."

In the silence that followed, everything else they wanted to say was said without a single word uttered. The two lay together, though physically apart, savoring the presence of the other. When at last sleep took Jack, he did not dream. There wasn't a need to. When he awoke, he'd have everything he needed.

…

_Epilogue_

The barren wastes of Antarctica was where Cliffjumper, or the twisted shell he had become, was put to rest. The Land-Bridge still ignited behind him, Optimus gazed down at the burial mound of snow and ice, the deformed corpse of his lost comrade far below.

The Prime stood alone. Arcee had told him, before departing to see Jack, that she had said her goodbyes to Cliff long ago. She did not believe there was a reason to do so again. Wanting her to dwell on happier things, Optimus had nodded his understanding.

With Ratchet's assistance, Optimus had placed the charred remnants of Cliffjumper's mangled body on a hover-sled, taking it through the Land-Bridge to the most isolated region on the Earth's most Southern mass he could find. Long ago, on Cybertron, Cliffjumper would have received a burial of honor, returned in body and spirit to the All-Spark. But, as Arcee had said, the Spark of their comrade had long since done so. What he now stood over was a shadow, a nightmarish one, best forgotten in the cold wastes.

"Ratchet. I am returning." Optimus relayed back through the Bridge.

"Copy that, Optimus. Standing by."

Wishing the true Cliffjumper a well deserved peace, Optimus turned from the mound and moved through the swirling tunnel of incandescent light, returning home. The Land-Bridge was gone and there was only the cold, and the wind, in it's wake.

That, however, soon changed. With a flash, the ground was illuminated by the light from a second Land-Bridge. After a moment, the burial mound of Cliffjumper was being looked over by another.

"There were only so many places that old Prime would drop you." The figure said. The tone, female, was mockingly somber. "What a waste. Dear Cliffjumper. Alas, I was never able to make your acquaintance. Oh, how I would have loved to see what it was about you that made her mourn your loss so deeply."

Then Airachnid smiled, colder then the frozen landscape about her.

"Let's amend that, shall we?"

Holding out her arm, Airachnid gazed down at the shard of Energon in her needle like talons. Unlike the pure azure light of the Energon so fiercely sought after by both sides, this piece glowed an eerie, almost ghostlike, hue.

Holding out the shard over the mound, Airachnid let the fragment drop. The Dark Energon crystal settled into the snow with a hollow thud. Then, as though pulled, or drawn, the shard descended first into the snow, then the ice, burrowing down for several meters before finding what it sought. The light which had suffused the shard grew brighter, seeming for a moment to envelope the entire area. Then, it was gone.

Waiting, Airachnid could feel her patience straining. She had done the science, seen the records of Megatron, then Knock Out's, experiments with the Blood of Unicron. If she understood it as well as she thought she did, there should have been…

Then the ground seemed to shift under her feet. Momentarily sent off balance, Airachnid quickly recovered, annoyed, but anxious, even eager, for what would come next. From somewhere down below, beneath the ice, there came a hollow, tormented cry. Then the ground before her exploded.

The twisted limb of a Decepticon, then an Autobot, clenched at the rim of the freshly made hole, pulling to the surface an even further deformed figure, it's armor still black and charred from it's third death.

After a moment, the empty optical sockets glowed to life. Though the burned visage seemed to stare at nothing, Airachnid knew it was looking directly at her. "Hello, Cliff." She crooned. "Rise and shine."

"_No._" The creature said, it's voice ever distorted.

"Hmm?" Airachnid inquired, freshly annoyed.

"_Cliffjumper…was our name…in life. Not…in death." _

"Oh, so what, pray-tell, should I call you then?" The Decepticon asked, coldly bemused.

"_We are…" _The reanimated monster seemed to look off, with hate, into memory. "_Crosswire." _


End file.
